(Well… one of them!) …Knowing your child is terrified of the very things that are there to help them. Things like hospital appointments. Blood tests. X-rays. Measurements. Haircuts. Nail cutting. Anything that feels intrusive. When your child is non-verbal, you can’t really explain — or you can try, but you never know how it’s landing or what they’re understanding. You can’t reassure them in the way you want to. They can’t see the benefit, only the distress. And carrying that as a parent is heavy. At least that is my experience — I know it looks different for everyone. For me, the anxiety starts days before. It sits quietly in my body. I feel tense, on edge, unsettled. And afterwards, after watching my son fight so hard to avoid these intrusions, my nervous system feels completely spent — sometimes for days. This is part of the unseen work of motherhood. The emotional labour. The regulation. The recovery. This is my week. Today, was the day. The 6 month Great Ormond Street big ch...